Richt: King’s 2-game suspension reflects tougher penalties for arrests
(Updated 4 p.m.)
ATHENS — Caleb King, Georgia’s starting tailback in both of its victories this season, won’t play in the next two games because of his arrest for failure to appear in court to address a speeding ticket.
Coach Mark Richt on Tuesday suspended King for the two games, saying he hopes the punishment teaches a lesson to the tailback and other players.
In years past, a case such as King’s might have drawn a shorter suspension, if any at all. But with King the 11th UGA football player arrested this year, Richt acknowledged the two-game ban reflects a tougher approach to punishing players for off-field incidents.
“Oh yeah, no doubt about it,” Richt said. “But they knew that.”
King won’t play in Saturday’s home game against Vanderbilt or the Oct. 23 game at Kentucky. He’ll return for the Oct. 30 game against Florida in Jacksonville.
The 11 Georgia players arrested this year, on charges ranging from battery to public intoxication, have drawn varying penalties from Richt. Four of the players were dismissed from the team. Another decided to transfer after being suspended for six games. Three others got one-game suspensions.
The latest suspension came one day after King was arrested by Athens-Clarke County Police on a bench warrant issued by a judge in nearby Walton County. The warrant was for failing to appear at an August court date regarding a June speeding ticket, which cited King for traveling 76 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone on Highway 78.
“I expect all our players to take care of their responsibilities on and off the field,” Richt said. “When players don’t do that, it damages the reputation of the player, our team and our university. My goal is for Caleb to learn a lesson and for other players to learn from his experience.”
King’s penalty was double that drawn by fellow tailback Washaun Ealey, who was suspended for one game –- the season-opening victory over Louisiana-Lafayette –- after his late-August arrest for hit-and-run of a parked vehicle and driving with a suspended license. At the time of Ealey’s arrest, there also was a bench warrant against him for failure to appear in court on speeding and vehicle registration charges.
Asked if King’s stiffer penalty reflects a tougher standard, Richt said: “Yes sir.” Asked if it reflects a need to send a message, Richt said: “Obviously.”
Although Richt emphasized that each player “has a responsibility to do the right thing,” the coach said he and athletic director Greg McGarity are having “an ongoing conversation” about ways to reduce the off-field problems. “I really have a lot of confidence that [McGarity] has some good ideas in that regard,” Richt said.
Already, Richt said, his staff is periodically checking to make sure players’ driver’s licenses are in good standing. “We’ve been doing that monthly,” he said, “but now we are going to do it weekly.”
Richt said, however, that it would be almost impossible for the staff to know when a bench warrant is issued for a player’s failure to handle a traffic ticket, as in the King case. “You basically would have to get in contact with every single county in the state of Georgia on a daily basis to find out if something like that popped up,” Richt said.
Several players said the team is well aware that off-field problems will have serious consequences.
“Enough has happened that I think the team is tired of it, the coaching staff is tired of it and the athletic director and everyone associated with the University of Georgia is [too],” quarterback Aaron Murray said. “We definitely have seen a little too much of everything that is going on. We’ve just got to be smart as a team … on and off the field.”
Said wide receiver Tavarres King: “Everybody knows at this point in time, if you get in trouble, you’re going to get a pretty good lashing.”
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842 comments Add your comment
Jim
October 12th, 2010
11:48 am
Idiots are posting most of these comments – just plain old stupid idiots!
WOW
October 12th, 2010
11:49 am
Actually Rainey was out for 4 games but still!
Liven Up
October 12th, 2010
11:49 am
What will it take for us to win a NC in this centurt?????
Sheriff Buford T. Justice
October 12th, 2010
11:49 am
Barry, don’t question my methods of law enforcements!
GTBob
October 12th, 2010
11:49 am
So he will miss the Vanderbilt and Kentucky games and be back for the Florida game when UGA actually needs him. Wow, that is some really stern discipline Mark.
Worm
October 12th, 2010
11:49 am
More discipline than would ordinarily be required..With Baker and King-The message has been sent!
CRB
October 12th, 2010
11:50 am
He should be gone…
http://www.redandblack.com/2010/10/12/accusations-piling-up-for-running-back-king-tally-of-arrests-increasing/
watcher16
October 12th, 2010
11:50 am
Any of you wanting King kicked off the team, I hope you get fired from your job if you ever get more than one traffic citation.
Mike
October 12th, 2010
11:50 am
Dawgs> Gators First off Kentuck has beaten Ga 2 of the past 4 years. And South Carolina has to lose 3 more genius
Worm
October 12th, 2010
11:51 am
GTBob, robert hall got 1 game for beating his girlfriend, PLEASE!
DAWG without bag over his head
October 12th, 2010
11:51 am
This team still needs a lot more emphasis on discipline, but I think a two-game suspension for a traffic ticket/failure to appear is fair punishment. Too bad it came on the heels of the what might have been the game that turns things around for the season.
Mike Bobo
October 12th, 2010
11:51 am
Coffee makes me nervous when I drink it. Mmmmmmmm
proof
October 12th, 2010
11:52 am
zero tolerance only applies to non starters.
ugaalumn81
October 12th, 2010
11:52 am
What little respect I had for Mark Richt is GONE. The thug life will continue at UGA.
jdawg
October 12th, 2010
11:52 am
I personally think one game was proper, but a message has been sent again, so we will see how they respond. Nobody seemed worried about the UGA athletic department towing a UGA van and the cost associated with that….this cost us money…..have photo to show it….
Keyser Soze
October 12th, 2010
11:53 am
dawgs>gators,
in your scenario, where is the room to make the argument that the sec is the strongest conference in football?
Harry
October 12th, 2010
11:54 am
Watcher….
Playing football is not a right. period. How can you defend this young man?????? The guy does not have his head on straight. If you got a speeding ticket would you pay it? I think you would, its not about the citation, but about lack of responsibility to own up. If my employee, did the same thing I would fire him as well, since he can’t take care of his out of the office life, how can I count on him to take care of the work that I give him????
Time to Die!
October 12th, 2010
11:55 am
Rainey is back with the Gators! I mean like Urban was going to kick him off the team.
The G
October 12th, 2010
11:55 am
At least he won’t fumble the next 2 games.
a nony mous
October 12th, 2010
11:55 am
regardless of how the King arrest shakes out, the dawgs need a power tailback as bad as they need a functional offensive line. at present it is tantamount to the “blind leading the blind”.
Joe
October 12th, 2010
11:56 am
What happen to the theft Charge, when that come out Richt will become more of a Joke
M-DAWG
October 12th, 2010
11:56 am
**ZERO TOLERANCE ONLY APPLIES TO BENCHWARMERS** WE HAVE HIGHER STANDARDS AT UGA!! **WE’RE THE NEW MIAMI** I SAID IT’S GREAT TO BE A GEORGIA BULLDOG!!!
Buckeye
October 12th, 2010
11:56 am
Stupid is as Stupid recruits……
I guess this means more time (no pun intended – HA) for the classless thug Ealey.
Go ‘Dores!
Caleb King
October 12th, 2010
11:56 am
I know saying I fumbled a speeding ticket doesn’t make sense but I am really a Tech fan acting like Caleb King
Schmeckdawg
October 12th, 2010
11:57 am
So for the next 2 games, we have to play a munchkin, a fumbler and a true freshman @ RB. Way to go Caleb you dumb #$%&!!!!!!!!
barneyb
October 12th, 2010
11:57 am
2 game suspension, what a joke. It wasn’t a speeding ticket- it was Failure to Appear! King has shown in his career at THUGA he has no regard for the law, the courts or Richt. Those in Athens know what King has been into. You reap what you sow. This is truly the begining of the end for Richt. Hope McGarity pulls the plug soon. As a graduate, I am embarrassed.
RxDawg
October 12th, 2010
11:57 am
From the other article…
“The vehicle’s owner, Georgia football player Brandon Wood, arrived at the scene five minutes later and was accompanied by Caleb King, according to police. Officers checked the two players’ licenses and discovered the outstanding warrant from nearby Walton County for Caleb King’s arrest. He was booked into the Clarke County Jail shortly after 5 a.m.”
You have got to be F-ing kidding me! Now that I know the cercumstances behind the arrest, I’d of supported Richt if he decided to give no suspension and result to in house discipline. That said, I understand what he’s trying to do. I think outside pressure is affecting his decisions… I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.
Maurice Clarett
October 12th, 2010
11:57 am
You got that right Buckeye!
Dawgs Tell
October 12th, 2010
11:57 am
Two game suspension is fair.Hope he has learned from his lack of judgement.Next time he gets in trouble(Hope not);he should be kicked off the team.
barneyb
October 12th, 2010
11:57 am
I love Barney my purple friend
HeHateGator
October 12th, 2010
11:58 am
Re: zero tolerance from AJC in Sept: Georgia’s new athletic director concurred with Mark Richt’s decision to dismiss Demetre Baker from the football team after the freshman linebacker’s arrest early Sunday. “When Mark talked to me about it, I was fully supportive of his recommendation,” McGarity said. Asked if this reflects a new zero-tolerance approach to arrests on the football team, McGarity said: “It’s up to the coaches, but yeah, I think Mark has had enough. And he’s made it very clear to the players what is expected.”
Silver Classic
October 12th, 2010
11:58 am
Jim – You are giving most of the posters here too much credit……Idiot is a step up for the haters!
RxDawg
October 12th, 2010
11:58 am
You damned trolls…
This is as excessive of a punishment as it gets.
Caleb King
October 12th, 2010
11:59 am
Two game suspension… Wohoo two weeks with nothing to do but get into trouble.
Sheriff Buford T. Justice
October 12th, 2010
11:59 am
RxDawg- we call it southern justice my friend. Otherwise known as DWB!
5150 P.O.A.D
October 12th, 2010
11:59 am
Make it 2 games that really matter. Make him sit for The Gators and Auburn. No couldn’t do that. Well as bad as UGA is this year maybe the dawgs couldn’t beat both Vandy and Kentucky with King in the game.
HeHateGator
October 12th, 2010
11:59 am
DUI and not paying a ticket is equal. Should be kicked off the team.
PA Dawg
October 12th, 2010
12:00 pm
MIke,
USC only has to lose 2 more with one being to the Gators. UGA could run the table and UF only lose to UGA leaving a three way tie for the East. The tie-breaker would go to the highest ranked team in the BCS. There’s a pretty good chance UGA would have surpassed both UF and USC by that time. As crazy as it sounds, UGA still has a chance to win the East.
SadDawg
October 12th, 2010
12:01 pm
I wonder if other schools have sissies from an instate rival coming on their blogs, disguised as fans of their rival to make silly posts.
I say sissies because who else but a sissy would call a kid with an unpaid traffic ticket a “thug?” A sissy with a computer.
GTVegas
October 12th, 2010
12:01 pm
Two games seemed a bit harsh to me, but that was before reading about this being his second offense. Not paying a speeding ticket and/or not showing up for a court date is either just plain old stupid or extremely arrogant, especially given Richt’s and the Administration’s recent focus on this type of thing. Not knowing the player personally, I can’t say which it might be, but I am sure Richt knows which and that may be why he got two games instead of one.
I might respect Richt that much more if he picked the game for his suspension and it was one in which King’s participation would be more critical. Being suspended for Vandy/UK is one thing, but being suspended for UF would be quite another. He needs to pick more meaningful games for suspension so that the player knows that he has not only violated the rules, but also let his teammates down.
ConantheLibrarian
October 12th, 2010
12:01 pm
Breaking News…..According to the PINES library database several UGA football players have overdue library books. What will Richt do, now that they are overdue?
HeHateGator
October 12th, 2010
12:01 pm
There is an imposter HeHateGator
October 12th, 2010
11:59 am
DUI and not paying a ticket is equal. Should be kicked off the team.
Rob
October 12th, 2010
12:01 pm
Zero tolerance, unless you’re an important player. In that case? 2 games.
Really?
October 12th, 2010
12:01 pm
5150 P.O.A.D – Has a coach ever suspended a player and then picked what games? No! If he would have been arrested right before the UF and Auburn game then he would have been suspended for those games.
red&black
October 12th, 2010
12:01 pm
this just in, the Yellow Jackets still suck…
Caleb King
October 12th, 2010
12:02 pm
Yo Washan you got your license back yet? I need to make a score
Chuck Allison
October 12th, 2010
12:02 pm
Little wrist-slapping responses like this will not stop the UGA crime wave in Athens. Zero tolerance was a joke. If King were a fourth string walk-on, he would have been permanently kicked off the team. Richt has got to get serious about managing his criminals.
Not First Offense
October 12th, 2010
12:03 pm
Weak punishment. This is not his first offense this year. Should be kicked off team immediately…
http://www.redandblack.com/2010/10/12/accusations-piling-up-for-running-back-king-tally-of-arrests-increasing/
Sorry
October 12th, 2010
12:03 pm
Rob – Richt never said zero tolerance! The media game up with that but nice try.
RxDawg's Daughter
October 12th, 2010
12:03 pm
Daddy, can you send me $500? CK won’t pay me back the money I loaned him and you really don’t wanna see that video.
No, really.
Love you!